Assemblies for transmitting and receiving data are used in a variety of portable hand held electronic devices. Typical of these assemblies are IR assemblies which may consist of one or more infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs) for transmitting data and an infrared receiver for receiving data. To function efficiently, the IR assembly's LEDs and receiver must be properly aligned. However, because these components are usually soldered directly to a circuit board in the electronic device, achieving a proper alignment may be difficult and costly. Further, the LEDs and receiver may be easily knocked out of alignment if the electronic device is dropped or otherwise mishandled. Likewise, many other electronic devices which transmit electromagnetic or sound waves may require a mounting bracket to provide correct alignment of their components. For these reasons, it is desirable to provide a mounting bracket which may be used in a portable electronic device to correctly align electronic components of a data transmission assembly such as an IR assembly. It is also desirable to provide a mounting bracket having apertures or holes for mounting cylindrical components such as LEDs or the like.
Presently, in order to manufacture a small plastic part having holes or apertures, a mold employing slide pins must be used. Slide pins must be slightly tapered so that they may be properly inserted and removed from a mold. Consequently, the inner surface of an aperture formed using slide pins will have the same taper. This taper may cause a cylindrical electronic component such as an LED to fit poorly and may lead to incorrect vertical or horizontal alignment of that component. Additionally, slide pins are difficult to use if they must be inserted into the mold at other than a right angle to the rest of the mold assembly. Thus, it is desirable to have an efficient process for manufacturing a small plastic part having cylindrical apertures without the use of slide pins.